New First Year Assessment Teaching Resources 28.02.11

One of the key aims of UCD’s Education Strategy (2009-2014) is ‘To foster early and lasting student engagement’. To facilitate this, assessment design in the first year needs to progressively move students from early low-stakes assessment, which builds confidence, to more challenging assessments - for achievement. In addition, students need to be engaged and empowered in their learning experience in order to achieve the level of social and academic integration for successful first year learning (Nicol, 2009).

The First Year Assessment Project Advisory Group led by Elizabeth Noonan and Geraldine O’Neill has developed a series of teaching resources. These resources are based on the both teaching and learning literature and UCD case studies. They are designed to assist academic staff in planning and implementing their first year assessments. These teaching resources are now available on a new First Year Assessment page in the Assessment Resources.  This is one of a number of Teaching & Learning projects focusing on first year, go to the projects section for more information, pages will be added as the projects develop.

1. The first resource is for module coordinators and is entitled: Module Design Principles and Practices for First Year Assessment.  It is based on six module design principles and highlights some comprehensive examples based on the literature. Module coordinators currently completing their module descriptors for 1st year might a) consider some of these design principles for their 1st year modules this year and b) plan for further implementing in other 1st year modules, next semester(s).
2. The second resource, Designing First Year Assessment Strategically, based on a similar one given to Programme Deans for programme planning, focuses on the key issues required in the overview of the first year of a programme.  This resource develops on some of the module design principles, but elaborates on some of the actions that can be taken at more School/stage/programme design level.
3. A third resource entitled Five UCD Case Studies of First Year Assessment, extracted from the Module Design resource, is also available on the web-site. Many of these UCD case studies address several of the module design principles in one module. Sometimes these types of modules may also be entitled ‘concept’, ‘theme-based’ or ‘enquiry-based’ modules.

* Nicol, D (2009), Transforming assessment and feedback: Enhancing integration and empowerment in the first year, Published by Quality Assurance Agency, Scotland